? (Lost)

"?", typically pronounced "Question Mark" is the 46th episode of Lost and the 21st episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Deran Sarafian, and written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. It first aired on May 10, 2006, on ABC. The character of Mr. Eko is featured in the episode's flashbacks.

Plot

Flashbacks

Eko is a priest in Australia. An associate gives him a counterfeit passport before he is sent to investigate a miracle of a drowned young girl, named Charlotte, coming back to life on the autopsy table. At first, it appears that the miracle is genuine. Eko then consults the girl's father, Richard Malkin, the psychic that Claire visited in "Raised by Another". Malkin claims that the girl survived naturally (probably thanks to the mammalian diving reflex, which is more pronounced in young individuals), and that Charlotte and her mother are simply pretending that there was a miracle because they resent the fact that he is a fraudulent psychic. Eko reports that a miracle did not take place. In the final flashback, Eko is confronted by Charlotte at the airport, who tells him that she saw Yemi while she was between the worlds and that his brother is proud of him. Angered, Eko starts to yell at Charlotte, who is interrupted by Libby, asking if everything was all right.

Lost (season 1)

The first season of the television series Lost commenced airing in the United States and Canada on September 22, 2004, concluded on May 25, 2005, and contained 25 episodes. It introduces the 48 survivors of a plane that broke apart in mid-air, scattering them on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. Forced to work together to survive, they come to realize it is no ordinary island.

The first season aired Wednesdays at 8:00 pm in the United States. In addition to the 25 regular episodes, a special, "Lost: The Journey", was aired on April 27, 2005, between the 20th and 21st episodes of the season. The season was released on DVD as a seven disc boxed set under the title of Lost: The Complete First Season on September 6, 2005 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

Crew

The season was produced by Touchstone Television (now ABC Studios), Bad Robot Productions and Grass Skirt Productions and was aired on the ABC Network in the U.S. The executive producers were co-creator J. J. Abrams, co-creator Damon Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender and Carlton Cuse with Jesse Alexander and Jeff Pinkner serving as executive consultants. The staff writers were Abrams, Lindelof, Cuse, Alexander, Pinkner, co-executive producer David Fury, supervising producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, producer Leonard Dick, producers Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, co-producer Jennifer M. Johnson and story editor Paul Dini. Some of the first season's episodes were written or co-written by writers on a freelance basis. The regular directors throughout the season were J. J. Abrams, Jack Bender, Stephen Williams, Tucker Gates, Greg Yaitanes and Kevin Hooks. Its incidental music was composed by Michael Giacchino. Abrams, Lindelof and Cuse served as the season's show runners.

Lost (season 4)

The fourth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company Network in the United States, and on CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008 and concluded on May 29, 2008. The season continues the stories of a group of over 40 people who have been stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific, after their airplane crashed there more than 90 days prior to the beginning of the season. According to Lost's executive producers/writers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, there are two main themes in fourth season: "the castaways' relationship to the freighter folk" and "who gets off the island and the fact that they need to get back".Lost came under scrutiny from critics in its third season, but the fourth season was acclaimed for its flash-forwards, pace and new characters.

The season was originally planned to contain 16 episodes; eight were filmed before the start of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Following the strike's resolution, it was announced that only five more episodes would be produced to complete the season; however, the season finale's script was so long that network executives approved the production of a 14th episode as part of a three-hour season finale split over two nights. The fourth season aired Thursdays at 9:00 pm from January 31 to March 20, 2008 and at 10:00 pm from April 24 to May 15, 2008. The two-hour finale aired at 9:00 pm on May 29, 2008. Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the season on DVD and Blu-ray Disc under the title Lost: The Complete Fourth Season – The Expanded Experience on December 9, 2008 in Region 1; however, it was released earlier—on October 20, 2008—in Region 2.

Kaito (software)

KAITO is a humanoid persona voiced by a singing synthesizer application developed by Yamaha Corporation using their new Vocaloid singing synthesizer technology under the codename of "Taro". His voice is sampled by Naoto Fūga. He has performed at live concerts onstage as an animated projection. Many songs have been made with him. He was the fourth ever released Vocaloid and the second in Japanese.

The product's name was invited to be chosen by the public, and "KAITO" was selected from among the applicants, which was Vocaloid producer Shu-tP's offered idea. One of the reasons why his name "KAITO" was selected was because it would be easy for non-Japanese speakers to pronounce, and it looked fitting with the name "MEIKO" when they were put next to one another.

Development

KAITO was developed by Yamaha, Crypton Future Media sold the vocal. His voice was created by taking vocal samples from singer Naoto Fūga at a controlled pitch and tone.

Additional software

A Vocaloid 2 update for KAITO was in development, but was cancelled after it failed to meet the deadline. A beta version of the vocals were used in Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai.

Gentleman thief

A gentleman thief, lady thief, or phantom thief (Japanese: 怪盗, Hepburn: Kaitō) in the East, is a recurring stock character. A gentleman or lady thief usually has inherited wealth and is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to steal. As such, they do not steal to gain material wealth but for the thrill of the act itself, often combined in fiction with correcting a moral wrong, selecting wealthy targets, or stealing only particular rare and challenging objects.

In popular culture

In fictional works, the phantom thief is typically superb at stealing while maintaining a gentleman's manners and code of honour; for example, Robin Hood is a former Earl who steals from the rich to give to the poor, Raffles only steals from other gentleman (and occasionally gives the object away to a good cause); Lupin steals from the rich who do not appreciate their art or treasures and redistributes it; Saint Tail steals back what was stolen or taken dishonestly, or rights the wrongs done to the innocent by implicating 'the real' criminals. Sly Cooper and his gang steals from other thieves and criminals.